It's one thing for a haunted house attraction to scare its customers; it's
another thing when the employees are too frightened to stick around. That¹s
to be expected, though, when the haunted house is inhabited by real, live‹I
guess we should say real, dead ghosts.

According to its employees, the longtime Gatlinburg attraction is home
to at least two ghosts‹a male and a female, both of whom are dressed in
late-1800s attire.

Story has it that the Mysterious Mansion‹located on River Road, just a
block and a half from Ripley¹s Aquarium‹was built on the site of an old
funeral home, which perhaps explains the paranormal activity.  It was also
built 30 years ago, which makes it the oldest haunted house attraction in
Gatlinburg.

"We've had customers come down and tell us what a great actress we have
upstairs," say staff members. "But we don¹t have actresses here." They add
that they've never seen the female ghost but have run across the male
repeatedly. Other employees have also claimed face-to-face encounters with
the specters.

"They never hurt anyone. We hear them and see the things they do. I
don't think either one of them knows they're dead," they say. "They're more
active when we're less busy. I've noticed that when we rearrange things in
the house, we'll get a lot of activity the following day."

Sometimes the ghosts are so active that the actors who work inside the
three-and-a-half-story Southern mansion see more than they can handle.
"We've had actors quit because of the entities in the house."
Guests of the Mansion take an unguided tour that lasts 15 to 20
minutes‹for those who don't chicken out first. For many, it¹s simply a
thrilling experience. "We recently had three elderly women come through the
house and tell us it was the most fun they'd had on their vacation."
The tour takes you through seemingly countless rooms, and along the way,
creepy actors and props are used to frightening effect. No one on the tour
makes physical contact with guests, but the real ghosts are liable to appear
just about anywhere.

In October, the Mansion honors its ghostly residents with its special
"House of Lost Souls" theme leading up to Halloween night. Dollar-off
coupons and group discounts will be available throughout the month.